This invention relates generally to knee and elbow braces and in particular to knee and elbow braces which are of the "one-size-fits-all" type, that is, they can fit a large range of sizes of limbs of persons wearing the brace.
Various types of knee and elbow braces are disclosed in the patent literature and are commercially available for helping to immobilize or support and stabilize the knee or elbow of persons to protect the joint against further injury and promote healing while allowing continuous use of the joint in sport or other activities. Examples of elbow braces in the patent literature are the following: U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,084 (Lehman) discloses a knee brace in the form of a planar pad arranged to be wrapped around the knee and having a central flap which utilizes a Velcro.RTM. fastener to extend about the brace in one direction to apply tension to the brace in that direction and a pair of upper and lower flaps which are fixed to the brace and are used to apply tension in the opposite direction. U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,744 (Palumbo) discloses a knee brace in the form of a sleeve having two straps which wrap around the brace to apply tension thereto in one direction above and below the knee and a central flap which wraps around the brace in the opposite direction to apply tension in that direction. Other patents disclosing various types of knee braces are U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,318,305 (Schultz); 3,463,147 (Stubbs); 3,473,527 (Spiro); 4,201,203 (Applegate); 4,287,885 (Applegate); 4,693,241 (Trznadel); and 5,168,577 (Detty).
Elbow braces are also disclosed in the patent literature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,457 (Korzenoski) discloses an elbow brace in the form of a sleeve having a tensioning strip secured to it. The brace is arranged to stiffen the elbow when swinging a golf club. U.S. Pat. No. 3,458,867 (Moore) discloses an elastic elbow protector in the form of a pad from which a pair of opposed straps expand to extend about the elbow.
While the aforementioned prior art knee and elbow braces may be generally suitable for their intended purposes, they nevertheless leave much to be desired from the standpoints of accommodating various sized limbs, and also supplying sufficient support to the joint to be braced. Thus, a need presently exists for knee and elbow braces which are of-the one-size-fits-all type and which have means to adjust and customize the support applied by the brace to provide good bracing support for various sized users.